Tag: Reviews
3
I'll say one thing for Stockholm's Kausal: they've got the potential to make someone a lot of money. See, listening repeatedly to "In dead cities" has made me realise that there's a niche market ready for the budding entrepreneur to exploit. Here's the basic pitch: buy the rights to "In dead cities" and then start up a new label that proclaims to have the cure for sleepless nights. As word of its success spreads, millions of baggy-eyed insomniacs will begin to scoop the album up until demand is such that outlets will barely be able to keep up with orders. $$$! Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. Kausal are an alright band in that whole ponderous, shoegazey universe that they reside in and they do have some moments of... alrightness... But, bloody hell, it's tedious stuff. There are some genuinely nice moments on the album, it must be said. You know those moments when you hear a guitar part and you think, "Oh, wow. Now that's a cool little section," and when it ends you kinda wish the band had played it just that tiny bit longer? You don't get those on "In dead cities". You get the, "Oh, wow. Now that's a cool little section," alright. But, instead of wishing it would run a little longer you find yourself thinking, "Jesus, is this ever going to end?" And it never does! Or, at least, it seems that way. I definitely found myself gazing at my shoes more than usual after listening to this, but that was because my head kept dropping as I fought to stay awake for the whole forty days -- sorry, minutes -- or so of this album. Way, way, way too boring!
- John Norby
Robyn's new track "Call your girlfriend" gets designated "Best New Music" over at Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12054-call-your-girlfriend/
7
When talking about music, the word "Icelandic" has come to mean a lot more than where the band members hail from. With the consistently brilliant works of Sigur Rós, the talents of Mùm, and Björk's wonderfully bizarre offerings, "Icelandic" has come to simultaneously define an ethereal, arctic expanse and an idiosyncratic and otherworldly landscape, with any deviations to one's conception of the term often being easily reconciled and folded into the wide-reaching designation. While "Í annan heim" may lean more towards a more traditional presentation of melancholy pop than their kinsfolk, Rökkurró will not be heralded as the band who broke the Icelandic mold, though this isn't to disparage their talents or sound. "Í annan heim" is home to quite a bit of quality songwriting, though, as a whole, the despondence is not always paired with intrigue -- the compositions, while beautiful, often pass without having convinced us to follow. The album does open up with repeated listening, and closer "Svamur" makes a strong case for one to start the album over, but I wouldn't be surprised if some never make it to those final moments -- those that find themselves wanting another pass through, however, will be happily rewarded.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
PopMatters reviews Robyn's third and final entry in the "Body talk" trilogy: https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/133931-robyn-body-talk/
7
On their self-titled debut, I Was a King carved out a niche filled with lackadaisical charms and easily repeatable, difficult to dislike slacker melodies. A year later, the Norwegian band is back with their aptly named sophomore album "Old friends". Crafting more of the same honey-soaked tunes that play like the embodiment of your favorite, worn-out sweatshirt, the band continues their reign of simplistic pleasantries.
Their previous effort boasted a guest spot from Sufjan Stevens (relegated to piano -- but hey, you can't argue with that kind of indie star power); this time Stevens cohort Daniel Smith (Danielson Family) steps in as the guest du jour. The paring makes sense -- both bands are only a few steps away from each other on the quirky scale (with Danielson Family taking the prize each and every time), but while Smith's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality translates to an utterly pleasing loose ride, and his recording digs contribute to an undeniably warm and immediate sound, the tunes themselves plateau at merely enjoyable.
With the longest track clocking in at three-and-a-half minutes (and the shortest -- "Kontrari" -- demanding a scant fifteen seconds of your time), it's nice to know that some bands still know better than to overstay their welcome. But while brevity is the soul of wit, achieving it shouldn't come at the cost of stunting idea development -- an unfortunate issue that dots many of the otherwise most enjoyable tracks. "Forgive and forget", in all its classic pop glory could have benefited from an extra verse or two, and the pulled back freak-out of "Unreal" is so adroitly crafted, it would have merited grandstanding. However, the stars do briefly align on "Snow song", a lightening-bolt of a piano ballad that blossoms into to an angular shower of electric guitars. With moments as impressive as this, is it greedy to ask for a bit more?
- Laura Studarus
10
I could easily sum this review up in one sentence: Robert Svensson has crafted the best record of 2010.
As I sneak up on thirty, I worry, much more so than in my younger years, that whatever visceral, overpowering connection I once had with music is slipping -- the records that were going to tear right into me have already done so; everything else is going to be an echo of those experiences. "You're a wasteland, honey", however, tore right into me. Listening to the record, I couldn't help but remember falling in love with Bruce Springsteen's "Born to run" in the mid-'90s while my peers at British boarding school were enraptured by Brit Pop, though this parallels my experience with Robert Svensson's most recent offering, it doesn't mock the occasion.
While I enjoyed Svensson's "Beat EP", I worried that it signaled his future trajectory, with bands such as Bloc Party already demonstrating how the allure of electronic music can unravel even the most talented of musicians. "You're a wasteland, honey", thankfully, is the fitting follow up to Svensson's fantastic debut, "Young punks are on the never-never". Everything I enjoyed about that first record is improved upon with "...wasteland". It's been a while since the release of a record that after the fifth or sixth listen I am not just skipping to my favorite tracks, often leaving more than half of the album behind; there is nothing to leave behind here. The record is effortlessly brilliant throughout, demonstrating how Svensson's many strengths and talents have developed since his gorgeous "Young punks..". Hands down, this is the record of the year, and the first in a while, perhaps since Laakso's "My gods" or Shout Out Louds' "Our ill wills", that has made such a profound impact on me.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
8
Kite's first EP is spot on -- on that effort, their particular brand of pop is so delicately run along electro-pop avenues that many others can't seem to navigate as deftly, and "My girl and I", that first effort's brilliant detour, has continued to haunt me ever since my first listen. Fast forward a to "III" and Kite are still doing it like no one else. "Jonny Boy" is about as captivating an offering as one could ask for; "A little more time" does so much with relatively little, its seeming effortlessness and efficiency in stark contrast to the crude mass of messy, overly ambitious electronic music out there; and closer "Castle of sand", Kite's fatalistic anthem -- "Everyone gets what I don't understand, so I keep building my castle of sand" -- rounds out a solid outing. While there isn't a weak track on the record, this release doesn't quite get out of the shadow of that first unrivaled offering, yet that speaks more to the strengths of that record, not to weaknesses on "III".
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Pitchfork reviews the latest Supersilent albums, "10" and "11": https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14818-10-11/
Burning Ambulance reviews the expanded reissue of Motorpsycho's "Timothy's monster", which is especially interesting as it's written by someone with an admitted ignorance of the band's long career, thus coming to the music with absolutely no prejudice and/or preconceived notions: https://burningambulance.com/2010/11/08/motorpsycho/
Pitchfork trashes "WYWH", the latest album from The Concretes: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14832-wywh/
Burning Ambulance reviews Swedish death act Interment: https://burningambulance.com/2010/11/05/interment/
6
You know the score with the type of music that Sweden's Misantropic play; the crusty punkthrash that's rapidly becoming more and more popular to the point of oversaturation. Plenty of choice is, of course, a good thing, but that also means that there's an awful lot of crap to trudge through in order to find that elusive golden nugget. The problem with abundance in the genre in which Misantropic reside, is that it's a form of music that doesn't lend itself to much deviance from its foundations. In that case, much like the melodic death metal of Göteborg, we find a genre with countless bands that all sound the same. One might say that the inclusion of a female vocalist in itself serves to set Misantropic apart from most of the other bands, and it does to an extent, but unless you're aware of the fact that it's a girl on vocals you might simply assume it's a weak male vocalist at the helm. Musically, it's all above average stuff, but not to the point where "Insomnia" is something you'll be busting to tell people about. Rather, this is a decent listen with some interesting moments. It's like Rotten Sound meets Waklevören in places, only an incredibly weaker version of both that gets tired quite quickly. Next time I give this a spin will probably be in a couple of years when I'm stuck for something to listen to and can't quite remember what this Misantropic album sounded like when I last heard it.
- John Norby
Dusted reviews the new Silje Nes album and does a good job of expressing some of the reasons I don't find her very compelling: https://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6071
Pitchfork likes Svarte Greiner's "Penpals forever (and ever)" a lot more than we do: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14789-penpals-forever-and-ever/
Kausal
Rökkurró
I Was A King
Robert Svensson
Kite
Misantropic